The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2020
ANZ's Love Speech film has LGBTIQ+ people speak the slurs they've been called
ANZ's Love Speech film made LGBTIQ+ Australians speak the homophobic names aimed at them, turning raw testimony into a national conversation.
ANZ
What it had to solve
ANZ wanted to use its platform to call attention to the profoundly negative effects hurtful language has on the LGBTIQ+ community and to ignite a conversation, rather than run another celebratory brand spot.
How it works
ANZ set out to ignite a conversation about what hurtful language does to the LGBTIQ+ community. Instead of another polished brand spot, it released a raw, emotive film built on the words of people who have lived it.
Each participant was invited to recall the confronting and abusive names they have been given in their lives. The film lets those recollections stand on their own: no scripted argument is needed, because the strength of the performances carries the message.
The film gained national coverage and raised questions not only about hate speech but about the casual homophobia that passes unchallenged in everyday life. D&AD archived the work as an example of a brand using testimony rather than spectacle.
Why it lands
- Putting the slurs in the mouths of the people targeted transfers the power to them: the audience hears the words as wounds, not as jokes.
- The raw, unpolished format contrasts with typical bank advertising, so the film could not be dismissed as corporate posturing.
- Real testimony replaced a scripted argument, which gave the film an emotional authority no claims about the brand could match.
- The performances did the persuading, which is why the film gained national coverage and stayed in public conversation.
What it did
The film gained national coverage and raised questions not only about hate speech but also about the casual homophobia of everyday life.
What you can take
A brand that sponsors a cause can say more by showing the problem's human weight than by celebrating the cause: uncomfortable testimony travels further than comfort.
Since then
Love Speech entered D&AD's awards archive as an example of a brand film built on testimony rather than spectacle. The conversation did not stay inside the film: coverage pushed people to examine the homophobic language of everyday life, not just overt hate speech. For ANZ the move was deliberately uncomfortable for a bank — showing the community's own words rather than a polished celebration — and that refusal to soften the message was what gave the film its reach.
Sources
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